Original title: India's capital is blocked by haze like a 'gas chamber'
4hw.org reported on November 6 that the Indian capital was blocked by unprecedented haze just as the trump government started the process of officially withdrawing from the Paris Agreement.
New Delhi's chief minister, kaijerival, also admitted that air pollution in northern India has reached intolerable levels and that the capital has become a gas chamber, BBC website reported on November 6.
According to Indian media reports, in early November 2019, air pollution in and around New Delhi, the capital of India, reached its worst level in three years, forcing the New Delhi municipal government to declare a public health emergency.
On November 3, PM2.5 and PM10 air quality indexes of New Delhi and its surrounding areas were double 'exploded', showing the maximum value of 999. An Indian Health Ministry official said the city's pollution monitors did not have enough numbers to accurately record pollution levels, which was a disaster.
Severe haze forced at least 30 flights from and to New Delhi International Airport to turn down due to poor visibility, the report said. New Delhi authorities suggested people avoid going out as much as possible, requiring schools to be closed until November 5, and the construction and other pollution industries to stop work immediately, starting from November 4, the implementation of single and double vehicle restrictions.
Experts say one of the main reasons why Delhi is so polluted at this time of the year is that farmers near the capital burn crops and clear their fields. This created a deadly form of particles and gases, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, all exacerbated by fireworks set off a week ago at the Hindu Diwali festival. In addition, construction and industrial emissions have also led to serious smog.
According to the report, although the utilization of renewable energy in India is increasing, and a bright prospect of reducing carbon emissions and improving clean energy in the future has been formulated, the proportion of petrochemical energy, especially coal, remains high in the rapidly developing economy.
According to official Indian data, 80% of India's electricity supply in the 2016-2017 fiscal year was from coal. Coal imports continue to grow due to a lack of electricity.
According to the commodity import and export statistics released by the Ministry of industry and Commerce of India, India's coal import from January to July 2019 was 152.193 million tons, an increase of 23.654 million tons or 18.4% year on year. In the first four months (April July 2019) of the fiscal year 2019-2020, the coal import was 89.526 million tons, an increase of 15.664 million tons, or 21.21%.
The report pointed out that in this context, trump proposed to revive the U.S. coal industry against the tide. There has been a heated debate at home.
What kind of negative effects will trump have in the field of International Climate Governance after "retreat"? At the time of severe haze in the Indian capital, how much confidence can people maintain in the existing goal of international clean environment governance is worthy of attention.